Radiation sickness
Radiation sickness is a serious health condition resulting from exposure to high doses of ionizing radiation, leading to a range of debilitating symptoms. Common symptoms include nausea, diarrhea, skin burns, internal bleeding, and severe anemia, all stemming from the suppression of blood production in the bone marrow and a diminished ability to fight infections. The severity of radiation sickness is dose-dependent, with doses above 600 rads often resulting in fatality, while doses around 450 rads yield a 50% survival rate. Interestingly, exposure to less than 50 rads may not cause immediate symptoms but can increase cancer risk over time.
Treatment for radiation sickness primarily focuses on mitigating symptoms and assisting the body’s recovery processes. Initial decontamination involves washing the skin to remove radioactive materials, with ongoing monitoring of radiation levels. Supportive care includes medications to manage vomiting and diarrhea, and antibiotics for infections. In severe cases, treatments like bone marrow transplants may be necessary to restore blood cell production. While there are specific therapies for targeted exposure, severe cases may require palliative care to ensure comfort in end-of-life situations. Overall, understanding the effects and treatment options for radiation sickness is essential for managing this complex medical condition.
Radiation sickness
Anatomy or system affected: Gastrointestinal system, hair, skin, stomach
Definition: An acute illness that occurs when an individual is exposed to a sudden, large dose of ionizing radiation (from X-rays, gamma rays, and particle bombardments).
Causes and Symptoms
Typical symptoms of radiation sickness are nausea, diarrhea, skin burns, internal bleeding, and severe anemia. The production of blood corpuscles in the bone marrow is inhibited, and the ability of the body to fight infection is reduced.
The severity of radiation sickness depends on the dose, which is commonly measured in units called rads (an acronym for "radiation absorbed dose"). For humans, a whole-body dose greater than 600 rads is usually fatal. At 450 rads, there is a 50 percent survival rate. Below 50 rads, no symptoms of radiation sickness are observable, although the risk of cancer is somewhat higher than normal.
Radiation therapy for cancer patients has typically been prescribed in total doses of about 5,000 rads. Such large doses are not fatal for two reasons: first, only a small region of the body (the actual cancer site) is irradiated; and second, the therapy is given in smaller doses of about 200 rads over a period of several weeks so that the body has time to recover between treatments.
Treatment and Therapy
Once radiation damage occurs, little can be done to repair it directly. Immediate treatment involves washing the body with soap and lukewarm water to remove radioactive material and monitoring the levels of radiation in the body. This monitoring continues throughout the course of treatment, which centers on whichever parts of the body have been affected and focuses on helping the body’s natural processes of recovery. Vomiting and diarrhea can be controlled with drugs, while bacterial infections and wounds are treated with antibiotics. In extreme cases, a bone marrow transplant can be performed to reestablish the formation of new blood cells. Donor cells are not likely to be rejected because the body’s immune system has been inactivated temporarily by the radiation. In cases of specific radiation exposure, there do exist a handful of targeted therapies that target specific internal organ damage, such as potassium iodide and Prussian blue. However, in cases of lethal radiation exposure, end-of-life, palliative care should be offered.
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